16-21 June 2013, Fort Collins, Colorado

Participants: We seek approximately 20 motivated graduate students undertaking research on some aspect of extreme precipitation, flooding, floodplain management, engineering, societal and behavioral aspects of precipitation or floods, etc., with an interest in multidisciplinary approaches and perspectives. We are seeking individuals with diverse research interests and backgrounds. Highly qualified undergraduate students and early career professionals will also be considered, although priority will be given to those who are or will be enrolled in a graduate program as of August 2013.

Purposes: To foster innovative thinking beyond disciplinary borders about hydrometeorological, engineering, and societal aspects of extreme precipitation and flooding; to promote mutual understanding of multidisciplinary research and operational tools and methods; to initiate multidisciplinary research collaborations among students with different disciplinary training; and to develop a community of researchers and practitioners working to better understand, predict, and respond to floods.

Format: The workshop will have two parts. Part one will take place from June 16-21, 2013. During this week, the participants will meet, hear from from prominent speakers on this subject, present their research ideas or results to one another, and begin to develop and design multidisciplinary research projects. Then, over the following year, the students will work on these projects, and will reconvene again to present their findings and develop a plan forward. Applicants must attend both parts of the workshop.

The name: When forecasting rainfall, flooding, elections, or anything else, there is always uncertainty. One way this uncertainty is represented is by the "spread" (i.e., the diversity of different possible outcomes) in an ensemble of forecasts. One focus of this workshop will be on how to understand and communicate that spread or uncertainty in different contexts. (Thanks to Clark Evans of UW-Milwaukee for suggesting this name!)

The application deadline has passed. We thank everyone who applied for their interest, and we will be notifying all applicants by March 31, 2013 about whether they were selected to participate.

Support will be provided for travel, lodging, and food for selected participants. The workshop is supported by the National Science Foundation (under grant no. AGS-1157425) and Colorado State University.

A PDF of this announcement, suitable for printing and distribution, is available by by clicking here.